Kyrie Irving and Mavericks bracing for 'hostile' Celtics crowd in Finals

The 2024 NBA Finals are just over 24 hours away.

Get your popcorn ready because this series is going to be a movie.

The Dallas Mavericks are in the NBA Finals for the first time since 2011 while the Boston Celtics have now made the Finals twice in the last three years. All eyes are on Kyrie Irving and the Mavs, as they try to become the first No. 5 seed in NBA history to win the NBA Finals. Irving has been phenomenal in these playoffs, and he always seems to be at his best when the lights are brightest.

Kyrie Irving and Mavericks bracing for 'hostile' Celtics crowd in Finals

The Finals begin in Boston tomorrow for Game 1, and the Mavs understand what they're walking into. The Celtics crowd is notorious for being loud and sometimes taking their heckling of opposing players too far, and the Mavs are ready for that.

Mavs guard Jaden Hardy said that there is "going to be a lot of energy" at TD Garden for Game 1, but he also thinks it will "probably" be a "hostile" environment. Hardy showed confidence that the Mavs are going to come in ready for Game 1, and they'll be "hungry and ready to fight."

Hardy was huge for the Mavs in the Western Conference Finals against the Minnesota Timberwolves, and he could be the Mavs' secret weapon in the Finals against Boston. Hardy has not shied away from the big moment in these playoffs, and part of his rise in play could be due to the leadership of Irving. Irving has been a big mentor for Hardy over the last season and a half, and he is helping his teammates prepare to play in Boston.

Irving is someone who has experienced this hostile crowd firsthand, but he doesn't seem to think that the Celtics crowd is going to be too bad in this series.

Irving's message to his younger teammates in this series is to "realize that (the crowd) is not as hostile as you think it is" and to not "overthink it."

Irving then continued to say "the fans are going to say what they're going to say. I appreciate them and their relationship they have to the game. But it's about the players at the end of the day."

Irving, Hardy, and the Mavs know what they're stepping into, and they must stay poised in this extremely tough environment. Boston fans are already known as some of the most rowdy fans in the NBA, and their favorite team playing against Irving and the Mavs in the NBA Finals is going to take that to the next level.

Most Celtics fans are not fond of Irving and how he left them, and now he has the chance to settle all the bad blood and win the NBA title.

For all the latest on Kyrie Irving and the Dallas Mavericks throughout the 2024 NBA Finals, stay tuned.